Donald Trump used donations for kids-cancer research towards his golf events

The Trump Organization has been hosting The Eric Trump Foundation golf invitational for ten years on behalf of the St. Judes Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. Little did the world know, the Trump’s have been profiting off of the charity without its knowledge.

According to Forbes, the charity was told they were able to use the Trump golf facilities for free during these outings, when that was not actually the case. While Eric Trump has done a lot of good, donating almost $11 million to the charity, the organization also directed over $1.2 million of the profits towards itself.

The Donald J. Trump Foundation, which is already under the microscope for self-dealing and advancing interests for itself over charity, has reportedly used the Eric Trump Foundation to funnel another $100,000 in donations towards the Trump Foundation. Donors were told their money was going to those sick kids in need, when in actuality, more than $500,000 of their charity was re-distributed to other charities connected to the Trump family, including at least four groups that subsequently paid to hold golf tournaments at Trump courses.

Who is to blame here? Well, according to writer Dan Alexander, it was none other than Donald Trump, the current President of the Unites States, who ordered the command for the for-profit Trump Organization to start billing hundreds of thousands of dollars to the nonprofit Eric Trump Foundation.

Alexander notes in the Forbes story that such practices appear to defy federal tax rules and state laws that ban self-dealing and misleading donors. This takes us back to Trump not wanting to reveal his tax forms, which makes sense considering his business history, and if he’s embezzling from a charity, God knows what else he’s done.

While Eric started the foundation for good, his father wasn’t having it. Ian Gillule, who served as membership and marketing director at Trump National Westchester during two stints from 2006 to 2015 and witnessed how Donald Trump reacted to the tournament’s economics.

“Mr. Trump had a cow. He flipped. He was like, ‘We’re donating all of this stuff, and there’s no paper trail? No credit?’ And he went nuts. He said, ‘I don’t care if it’s my son or not–everybody gets billed.'”

The idea of POTUS governing for his own well being over the charitable efforts towards other is nothing new. Trump golf courses are used not only for beneficial outings, but on Tour as well. The Women’s U.S. Open will be held at Trump Bedminster this summer, despite requests to move venues.

It’s unfortunate and disgraceful that such a beautiful organization like St. Judes was swindled by a Trump Organization, especially when it involves the game of golf.